New Employment Law Rules in Bulgaria

Sofia, 5 June 2017

As of January 2017, amendments to the Bulgarian Labour Code mandate certain new protections for Bulgarian nationals working in other European countries.

The amendments apply to Bulgarian companies that send their employees on a business trip to the EU, EEA and/or Switzerland for the purposes of providing services to third parties as well as to Bulgarian temporary employment agencies sending Bulgarian citizens to work for a company in the EU, EEA and/or Switzerland.

Bulgarian employees working abroad must now receive at least the statutory minimum remuneration and/or the minimum additional remuneration for overtime and night work as established in the applicable receiving country of work. This also includes other employee statutory benefits available in host countries.

Noteworthy is the fact that the Bulgarian employer maintains the supervision and the control of the Bulgarian employee working abroad. From a legal standpoint, the parties must conclude an additional agreement to their existing labour contract.

With respect to labour intermediaries, we note that Bulgarian employment agencies hiring abroad must be registered in a special register at the Bulgarian Employment Agency.